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Detroit Red Wings bringing back Jeff Blashill for fourth season

Jeff Blashill will be back for a fourth season with the Detroit Red Wings, General Manager Ken Holland announced on Tuesday afternoon during locker room clean out.

Blashill, 44, took over for Mike Babcock in 2015-16 and went 41-30-11 and made the playoffs, losing in the first round to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The last two years have seen a decline with the team winning just 33 and 30 games respectively, missing out on the playoffs during both seasons.

Last year marked the first year in 25 years the Red Wings missed the playoffs.

"I thought the team played hard until the finish," Holland said. "I'm hoping that 2, 3, 4 young players in our system make the team." Holland said. He said he hopes Blashill, who coached in Grand Rapids before the Red Wings, will help those players continue to develop.

Holland has said the theme going into next season is the future with the focus on rebuilding the team with young players. According to Holland, those young kids will play for the Red Wings when they're ready to play at the NHL level, not before.

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